YOURSAY | 'Hadi is worried that the public will see PAS leaders in their real state…'

Hadi to Muslims: Would you rather herd cows or pigs?

David Dass: It is an analogy (cow and pig herders) destined to stoke the emotions. PAS leader Abdul Hadi Awang knows the Muslim attitude to pigs.

Hadi will continue to say what he loves saying. He believes in Malay domination. He does not accept our Constitution. He feels that the Constitution was a document forced on the Malays by the British.

That the Malay rulers were always sovereign is irrelevant to him. That Penang, Sabah and Sarawak were ceded by Malay rulers to the British and that those states, as well as Malacca, were colonies of the British at the time of Independence is irrelevant to him.

That Chinese and Indian labour opened up the jungles and built the hard infrastructure of the country, as well as provided the labour for our plantations and tin mines. That Chinese enterprise was, and continues to be, the backbone of commerce in the country.

That Sabah and Sarawak are predominantly Christian-majority states and joined Malaya to form Malaysia on terms of equality and freedom of religion.

Hadi also believes that all Malays feel the way he feels. He is wrong. The majority of Malays accept the Constitution. The majority of Malays believe in the rule of law. The majority of Malays accept non-Malays as equal citizens. The majority of Malays enjoy the multiracial diversity that is Malaysia.

Pakatan Harapan must provide the counter-offensive to the Hadi rhetoric. The old Umno strategy of trying to be more Malay and more Islamic than PAS has brought us to this dangerous state.

It is time for Harapan to roll things back. It is time to demonstrate to the Malays that multiracialism and moderation are better for them than racism and extremism.

Apanakdikato: The most relevant question that Muslim Malaysians must ask themselves is how long more they want to be treated like cows by PAS?

PAS leaders instruct Muslims to buy Muslim products, but the same leaders indulge in ultra-luxury non-Muslim products such as top-of-the-line Mercedes Benz cars.

Unfortunately, just like backward countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan, the uneducated Muslim populace is easily misguided and tricked. A government can only be as good as the people who voted them in.

Anonymous 770241447347646: Hadi is worried that the public will see them in their real state, like how they use the money that they got from Putrajaya to buy luxurious cars for themselves and give themselves a huge bonus.

The issue is that they themselves have no capability to generate income for the state and its people. They are complete failures.

So, before the public realises their greed of the luxurious life with borrowed monies, they are diverting their attention by using this cow and pig herders analogy.

Kural: It is not gracious for a religious leader to use such examples as herding cows and pigs as legitimate distinctions for accepting or refuting subservience status.

It should normally be anathema for the likes of Hadi, with religion as his primary area of competence, to think that anyone should be considered as inferior to another purely based on superiority of numbers and locality, unmindful of historical circumstances.

Such seems his parochial prejudices that it would be surprising if he could long retain leadership of an articulate and critical-minded following. It would have been amusing if he had also included camel herding as a category as well.

PW Cheng: It is Hadi's job to harp only on race and religion in order for PAS to survive. So long as PAS thinks the kampung folk are cows and they are the cowherds, their race-and-religion issue will persist and be exploited.

That’s why they are very afraid of making the education system better. Have you ever heard of PAS talking about improving our education system? They are only interested in tahfiz (religious) schools so that they can continue to lead them by the nose.

The country can go to the dogs, like in Kelantan, so long as they enjoy their 450SL (Mercedes Benz). They couldn't care less of the country and the people. God forbid if PAS comes to power. We will be doomed and rank similar to Somalia.

R Venugopal: This is a very frightening speech by Hadi, and MCA and MIC should listen to this very carefully. Hadi is not interested in unity but inclined to divisive politics to grab power.

Now we all know how Hadi categorises the non-Muslims. It is very demeaning and cruel to describe others as pigs. May the Almighty bless him and give wisdom to his thoughts.

Kee Thuan Chye: How pathetically shallow and simplistic, coming from a supposed national leader with decades of political experience. Is he talking to an audience of pig-headed people? Does he have no respect for their intelligence?

The Wakandan: Hadi knows what he is talking about. The theology that he exemplifies is one that has no compromise. It is us and them or them and us, whichever way you see it. This is the side of the religion that is so very dangerous.

Like it or hate it, he has followers. It is these followers that he wants to keep, that they may not be seduced by the seemingly popular aspect of liberalism.

He can be sure that they stay with him or PAS, but he is counting too that he will get converts - to bring the open-minded Muslims to his idea of extremism. And he may be very well can do that if they see no future for them in the Harapan government.

RR: The Harapan government must implement forthwith the long-awaited Racial and Religious Harmony Act. The Attorney-General’s Office must burn the midnight oil to draft the Act without any further delay.

If this Act is in force, Hadi will be put behind bars until he reforms himself. Firstly, he must understand that the human race is one; only the colours and languages are different.

Sadly, organised religions have divided us. As the Holy Prophet said, "To you your religion and to me mine.” Yet fanatics exploit religion for their selfish gain, more so in a multiracial, multireligious society.

Therefore, we need this Harmony Act to maintain peace and harmony in the nation. In a democracy, all citizens are equal. This must be understood by all politicians. 

Yoursay: Cows, pigs and Hadi’s version of ‘ketuanan’ Islam

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